TIAA-CREF is acquiring Nuveen Investments from an investor group led by private equity investment firm Madison Dearborn Partners for $6.25 billion, which includes Nuveen’s outstanding debt, said TIAA-CREF spokesman Chad Peterson.
Nuveen is a diversified money manager with about $221 billion in assets under management. This transaction brings TIAA-CREF’s total AUM to about $800 billion.
Roger W. Ferguson Jr., president and CEO of TIAA-CREF, told Pensions & Investments in a phone interview that the firm had been looking to expand its money management capabilities for a couple of years and decided that the best way to do this was through acquiring an external entity.
“Nuveen was on the top of the list,” Mr. Ferguson said. “It’s very complementary to what we do, so we found it to be a hand-in-glove fit.”
Nuveen will operate as a separate subsidiary within TIAA-CREF’s money management business, retaining its current multiboutique business model and continuing to support its investment affiliates through scaled distribution, marketing and administrative services.
John Amboian will remain Nuveen’s CEO. Nuveen’s current leadership and key investment team will remain in place.
